CFN's predictions of the top 50 games

#1
bigorange

bigorange

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#1
so far they have us going 0-3... :hmm:

31. Georgia at Tennessee, Oct. 6
This showdown is always one of the key pieces to the SEC puzzle. By this point in the year, Georgia will have faced South Carolina and Alabama, while Tennessee will have traveled to Florida. If the Volunteers pull off the win in The Swamp, and considering the toughest conference road game left will be at Alabama, this might effectively cinch the SEC East championship. The two teams are eerily similar in strengths and weaknesses with good backfields, shaky secondaries, and questionable receiving corps. Last year, Tennessee won by blowing the doors off the Dawgs 51-33 with a strange second half run. Now it'll be Georgia's turn to return the favor. The road team has won four straight in the series. Make it six, with Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford outplaying Tennessee's Erik Ainge, and the Dawg secondary and receiving corps to show by early October that they're just ahead of Tennessee's.
[SIZE=-1]Predicted score in July: Georgia 31 ... Tennessee 17[/SIZE]
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14. Tennessee at Florida, Sept. 15
Always worth the price of admission, this is Tennessee's chance to show it's an SEC star again, and it might be a must-win if things don't go well in the season opener at California. Florida will have had two warmups against Western Kentucky and Troy to prepare, and that'll make all the difference. While Tennessee will be battle tested against the Bears and Southern Miss, it'll also be more beaten up and won't be able to work on the same things Florida will. In other words, the Gators will be better tuned up. Home field advantage hasn't always meant much in the series, but it'll make a difference in the first monster home game since winning the national title. Tennessee's issues in the secondary, which will be exposed in Berkeley, will also be the major problem against the Gator receiver speed.
[SIZE=-1]Predicted score in July: Florida 21 ... Tennessee 16[/SIZE]
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12. Tennessee at California, Sept. 1
After a nightmarish 2005, Tennessee announced it was back with a 35-18 win over a great Cal team in last year's opener. Now the tables are turned, as the Bears can show they belong in the national title hunt, with a win in Berkeley. Cal finally, finally came up with a real, live big win in a spotlight game since coming to prominence with the 45-10 destruction of Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl, but that barely registered much more than a yawn nationwide. Now it has to show that it's the real deal, while Tennessee wants to erase the end of last year, when it lost three of its final five games. Unfortunately for the Vols, this is a horrible matchup for them in the season opener. Remember, college teams don't get preseason games like the NFL teams do, and they don't get a chance to work the kinks out. Tennessee has issues with its pass rush and secondary, and if it doesn't get to Cal's Nathan Longshore on a regular basis, it'll be a long, long day. The Cal speedsters at receiver will go ballistic.
[SIZE=-1]Predicted score in July: California 28 ... Tennessee 17[/SIZE]
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they haven't posted the top 1-10 games yet.
 
#4
#4
bigorange said:
so far they have us going 0-3... :hmm:
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The problem with that is that if according to CFN we lose all those big games, we'll gave 2-3 losses by the time we play UGA and it won't be a very big game at all.
 
#8
#8
Cal finally, finally came up with a real, live big win in a spotlight game since coming to prominence with the 45-10 destruction of Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl, ... Now it has to show that it's the real deal,
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Gee, that sounds so familiar. Didn't we ride a major destruction of Texas A&M in a bowl game to a preseason #2 ranking ... just before we had our first losing season in 17 years.
 
#9
#9
My predictions for all 3 of those games: the team who scores more will win.
 
#10
#10
Everyone one and their brother are under-estimating our secondary. I love it. I hope we have a huge chip on our shoulder from all the naysayers.
 
#12
#12
GAVol said:
The problem with that is that if according to CFN we lose all those big games, we'll gave 2-3 losses by the time we play UGA and it won't be a very big game at all.
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Just noticed that in an earlier entry they've got UGA losing their opener to Oklahoma State. Now Ok St is not a bad football team, but if UGA loses at home to Ok St, chances are they will have at least 1 more loss to SC or Alabama before they face us.
 
#13
#13
As much as I worry about not keeping up with the Joneses (Florida, LSU, and Auburn have clear talent advantages over UT right now), considering that Florida won the national championship last year, and it is the SEC opener for both schools, I do not understand how that game could not be in the top ten. Much less be ranked behind the Tenn/Cal game. It is assinine.
 
#14
#14
Lexvol said:
As much as I worry about not keeping up with the Joneses (Florida, LSU, and Auburn have clear talent advantages over UT right now), considering that Florida won the national championship last year, and it is the SEC opener for both schools, I do not understand how that game could not be in the top ten. Much less be ranked behind the Tenn/Cal game. It is assinine.
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Just more proof of the love affair some have with the potential of Cal football. Cal is much improved, but until they actually win a big game, I swear I don't get why they are such a sexy pick for some in the media.
 
#15
#15
GAVol said:
Just more proof of the love affair some have with the potential of Cal football. Cal is much improved, but until they actually win a big game, I swear I don't get why they are such a sexy pick for some in the media.
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Perhaps another thrashing on the national stage will help take them off of the map for a while.
 
#18
#18
GAVol said:
...and then outrage fans so that their site gets e-mailed and linked to message boards everywhere. I'd say that the guy is doing his job.
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Good point, GAVol. You've got to provoke people during the dog days of summer.
 
#19
#19
true. :hi:
i just hope our boys come out on fire this year and prove everyone wrong.
Of course thats a nice thought and sounds really cheesy but,the holes at WR & DB are a bit scary but i dont see us losing all of those games maybe one and i pray to god its not to UF or Cal but, i dont really see us losing to UGA either.
does that make sense?...lol
 
#20
#20
I am just mad at the fact that we basically beat the crap out of Cal last season and still no one believes that we are better than them :no:
 
#22
#22
getyopopcornready said:
I am just mad at the fact that we basically beat the crap out of Cal last season and still no one believes that we are better than them :no:
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In the sports news world, you are as good as your last game. Ours was less than fabulous, to be kind.
 
#24
#24
Last year 4 out of 5 so called "experts" from CFN picked Cal over Tennessee.

CFN said Cal would win 23-14.

The result, Tennessee curbstomps Cal.

I like where this is going....:)
 
#25
#25
This is what CFN said about the 2006 game.

The Bears are better than the Volunteers. They have more offensive firepower, better running backs, better linebackers, and the all-around talent to be in the hunt for the national title. However, Cal hasn't won a really, really big game since USC half-assed it in the 2003 loss. Jeff Tedford's program could use a splashy victory to get the national respect it's been so close to cementing for the last few years. If you believe everything you read, Tennessee is being considered just a shade better than Temple after an overblown 5-6 season, but it has to come up with the opening day home win to ease the pressure off Phil Fulmer and his staff with the Florida showdown in two weeks. A win by the Vols would show that things are back to normal in Knoxville.

Why California Might Win: It's the better team. Tennessee can be back to being Tennessee and it still might mean the Bears will come away with the win. The jury is still out on Vol QB Erik Ainge and whether or not he can be a consistent enough passer to be a difference maker in a game like this. He'll be under pressure from the start with the Vol offensive line still a work in progress after trying to get tougher and more physical with a stepped up off-season regimen. The improvement might not matter with All-America DT Brandon Mebane and the the Cal line good enough to control the trenches. There's also rebuilding being done on the Vol defensive front seven. That's not a plus with Marshawn Lynch and the Cal running game certain to be solid right off the bat.
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So everybody can go ahead and remember to make fun of this 2 months from now. :birgits_giggle:

12. Tennessee at California, Sept. 1
After a nightmarish 2005, Tennessee announced it was back with a 35-18 win over a great Cal team in last year's opener. Now the tables are turned, as the Bears can show they belong in the national title hunt, with a win in Berkeley. Cal finally, finally came up with a real, live big win in a spotlight game since coming to prominence with the 45-10 destruction of Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl, but that barely registered much more than a yawn nationwide. Now it has to show that it's the real deal, while Tennessee wants to erase the end of last year, when it lost three of its final five games. Unfortunately for the Vols, this is a horrible matchup for them in the season opener. Remember, college teams don't get preseason games like the NFL teams do, and they don't get a chance to work the kinks out. Tennessee has issues with its pass rush and secondary, and if it doesn't get to Cal's Nathan Longshore on a regular basis, it'll be a long, long day. The Cal speedsters at receiver will go ballistic.

Predicted score in July: California 28 ... Tennessee 17
Click to expand...
 
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